Huge Pressure Leclerc and Sainz Have To Face At Ferrari Described By Scheckter

Monday, 29 January 2024 at 11:00

1979 Formula 1 World Champion Jody Scheckter recently explained how he can sympathize with the enormous pressure that Ferrari drivers face nowadays.

Jody Scheckter was a Formula 1 driver between seasons 1972 and 1980. Throughout his nine seasons in the sport, he achieved 33 podiums, ten race wins, and, of course, one World Championship.

Until the day of writing this article, Scheckter remains the only driver from the continent of Africa to win a Grand Prix race and the F1 World Championship.

The 73-year-old driver spent the last two seasons of his career in Ferrari and actually won his Championship with the team, and that is why he can relate to the pressure that Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz face.

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The South African appeared on a recent episode of the Formula for Success podcast hosted by Eddie Jordan, who asked him whether the pressure on Leclerc and Sainz is "infinitely more" than on any other drivers in F1. The World Champion responded:

"The difference for me was that when you drive a Ferrari, you're driving for Italy. When you're driving for McLaren or another team, you're driving for the team. That's the big difference."

The media and newspaper agencies scrutinize everything that happens in the Scuderia Ferrari team. They are quick to make assumptions and create a lot of pressure on the whole team, but mainly on the drivers and the team principal.

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner called it out as the "biggest problem" for the Prancing Horse this year when he said newspapers have too much influence on what happens within the team. Scheckter added:

"And so you've got the pressure of Italy on your shoulders. Because whatever you did, it was in all the papers."

The pressure on the Ferrari team and its drivers has been the same for a very long time, and it will most probably not change within the upcoming couple of seasons.

Do you think the two drivers and Fred Vasseur can cope with the pressure well enough not to get distracted in the battle for the Championship?